Parking-lot bandits

Just when you thought it was safe to go downtown, visitors venturing into the city's central business district are getting gouged with outrageous prices for parking. All too often, prime parking spaces in private lots cost even more than some of the tickets to concerts and ballgames. (File photo)

Photo: Gary Fountain, Freelance

An exasperated mother driving her daughter to a Taylor Swift concert in downtown Houston added an interesting word to our city's lexicography. After paying a whopping $60 to park her car, Jennifer Moncrief coined a term to describe the startling avarice of parking lot owners near Minute Maid Park: "landsharking."

Just when you thought it was safe to go downtown, visitors venturing into the city's central business district are getting gouged with outrageous prices for parking. All too often, prime parking spaces in private lots cost even more than some of the tickets to concerts and ballgames.

Beyoncé and Jay Z pretended like they were outlaws on stage during their 2014 "On the Run" tour stop at Minute Maid Park, but the crews that really made out like bandits were the parking lot operators who stuck up concert guests for as much as $80. Since that night, despite widespread complaints, angry drivers have routinely seen parking rates jacked up to ludicrous levels during downtown's most popular events.

That's bad for downtown, and it's bad for business.

It's especially troubling that one of the most expensive lots during these concerts sits on public property. That $80 lot at the Beyoncé concert? It belongs to taxpayers. It's the Diamond Lot adjacent to Minute Maid Park.

Sure, anybody who doesn't want to pay a premium can park far away, maybe even ride the rail into town. But let's face it: Outrageous parking prices tick people off and discourage visitors from going downtown.

Mayor Sylvester Turner, questioned by reporters about this phenomenon, admitted he's one of the Houstonians who's occasionally cursed the skyrocketing price of downtown parking. But the mayor suggested there's little the city can do beyond encouraging people to ride mass transit.

Actually, there are a couple of ways city officials can help ease downtown's parking problems.

For example, Astros fans driving the streets around the ballpark can't help noticing how many parking meters around construction sites are covered with red bags. There's good reason to close off those spaces during the daytime when construction crews are at work, but there's no reason why those spaces should sit empty at night.

Although the Astros control the lot next to Minute Maid Park, the mayor and the sports authority should encourage the team to set an example by avoiding the temptation to boost prices for popular concerts. What's good for downtown is good for the Astros and good for the team's owner, Jim Crane, who should step up to the plate by holding the line on high parking prices.

Houston First is about to open a new garage adjacent to the convention center, adding 1,900 new spaces within walking distance of Minute Maid Park and the Toyota Center. A couple of years ago, this government-created entity quietly imposed a price hike in the garages around the Theater District, raising the old $7 evening rate to $10. We hope the mayor will remind Houston First the new garage's primary mission is easing downtown's parking problems, not generating a bonanza of revenue for Houston First.

A generation ago, downtown was so desolate after dark roller skaters rocketed through the streets unimpeded by traffic. Since then, our city has spent decades trying to sell the central business district as a destination for entertainment. And patrons driving to Minute Maid, Toyota Center or another venue should have lasting memories of Taylor Swift or our sports heroes or an event. The memory shouldn't be of an early evening encounter with a land shark.